The Rock Resurrection Tour comes to Foxwoods Resort – November 19, 2023

After a successful run across America last winter, The Rock Resurrection Tour is making its way to a whole new batch of cities. On Sunday night, the tour returned to New England, this time with a show at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut. The co-headlining tour features Skillet and Theory of a Deadman, and kicks off with one more great band, Saint Asonia.

Saint Asonia

Saint Asonia frontman Adam Gontier is best known the original frontman of Three Days Grace. Adam’s cousin Cale Gontier plays bass, while Cody Walkins in on the drums. Guitarist Mike Mushok is currently busy touring with Staind, so Tavis Stanley, from Art of Dying and Adelitas Way, is handling the guitars.

Kicking off with “Better Place,” their 8 song set featured a little piece of all aspects of Adam’s career. We got songs off of Saint Asonia’s self-titled debut, as well as tracks from their recent pair of EP’s Introvert and Extrovert, like “Devastate” and “Above it All.”

 In the middle of the set, we got a pair of Three Days Grace songs, first with “Never Too Late,” the majority of which was performed solo by Adam, with the crowd singing along. They then played Three Days Grace’s mega-hit debut song, “I Hate Everything About You,” followed by a cello-less version of the Apocalyptica song “I Don’t Care.” I’ve long felt Adam is one of the greatest rock voices of his generation, and “I Don’t Care” has always been one of his best performances. The way they’re doing it is a cool arrangement to get to hear him sing it.

Last week, Saint Asonia released a new version of their song “Wolf,” featuring a guest appearance from Skillet frontman John Cooper. While he didn’t join them during their set, we still got to hear a rocking performance of it.

The band had a great energy, and sounded great. While it is great to hear the Three Days Grace songs the way they should be heard, the only thing disappointing in their set was that we didn’t get to hear more Saint Asonia songs. Hopefully before too long, Saint Asonia will come around on a headlining tour, and we’ll get a full night of their music!

Skillet

Skillet has an energy on stage that is unmatched by most bands. Frontman John Cooper gets the audience hyped up and singing along, while his wife, Korey, leaves you wondering how she can actually play guitar while bouncing around as much as she does. Jen’s thunderous drums are matched by the power of her soaring vocals, while Seth treats us with great guitar solos. The Christian metal band kicked off with a duo of powerful tracks, “Feel Invincible,” and “Rise.”

Skillet’s set is full of theatrics, from John entering the stage with steam cannons attached to his arms, to Korey and Seth rising up above the stage on platforms. Multiple songs, such as their hit “Comatose,” featured a cello player joining them on stage to play the string parts.

Earlier this year, Skillet released a new version of their track “Finish Line,” off of 2019’s Victorious, with Saint Asonia frontman Adam Gontier making a guest appearance on it. While John didn’t join Saint Asonia during their set, Adam did come out to sing “Finish Line” with Skillet, delighting the audience.

While speaking to the crowd, concerts are one of the only places where people put aside all their differences, and come and enjoy a show, without hating each other. From the first to the last note, that rang true with the audience, who all had a blast.

Theory of a Deadman

The crowd sang along to an intro tape of “Sweet Caroline,” as Theory of a Deadman made their entrance to the stage. Kicking off with the title track of their most recent album, Dinosaur, the band brought us a rocking show. Their set featured songs from all eras of their career, with hits like “Lowlife,” and then reaching all the way back to “Santa Monica” off of 2005’s Gasoline. A cover of Chris Issac’s “Wicked Games” is always a treat in their set, as well as fan favorites like “Angel” and “Bitch Came Back.”

As their set came to a close, if you were worried the audience was getting tired after three great bands performing, you’d be wrong, as they really popped for “hits like “Hate my Life” and the show closer, “Bad Girlfriend.” Theory of a Deadman always puts on a great show, and I look forward to seeing what else comes out of the Dinosaur album cycle!